Review: February and December by JP Kenwood

At a Glance: Loving the Dominus series the way I do, February and December was a welcome between novels treat.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: As a lifelong passion continues to fade, another love deepens… two stand-alone m/m stories of love, lust, and friendship in ancient Rome.

February: Home from the first war against the kingdom of Dacia, Gaius Fabius ignores his obligations in Rome and returns to his secluded seaside villa in southern Italy. Under the pretense of a holiday trip, his best friend and secret lover, Lucius Petronius, surprises him with an unexpected visit. Later that evening, the lusty masters share the delights of Gaius’s blond pleasure slave, Nicomedes.

December: With whispers of an embezzlement scandal floating through the capital, Lucius Petronius and his beloved concubine, Bryaxis, celebrate the raucous winter solstice festival of the Saturnalia with Luc’s family. After a joy-filled evening of food, gifts, and stories, Lucius and Bryaxis reverse roles in the master chamber.

Warnings for explicit language, filthy loving, and daft shenanigans

Review: I have a couple of opposing thoughts about reading February and December as a standalone novella. Sure, yeah, you could do it if you love a quick bit of historical erotica to spice up your day. It is a sexy bit of fiction, no doubt, but I have to say that knowing these characters and the events that have shaped them into who they are when these stories take place adds something so much more to the sexuality and emotional intimacy of each scene. Considering these stories can technically work as standalones, but also work as complements to the series, I’d say it’s a win-win. Knowing the characters, though, was also a big bonus for me.

If you haven’t read the first two books in the Dominus series, let me tell you that Gaius Fabius, Lucius Petronius and their respective slaves, Nicodemus and Bryaxis, are so much more than just names on the page: charming, absolutely; vibrant in their lust for each other and the pleasures of the flesh, without a doubt–Gaius especially seems to approach sex much like he does battle, like the warrior he is. But there’s an emotional current woven much deeper in the series’ novels between Gaius and Lucius that meant something more to me as I was reading about these two men who’d loved each other—and still love each other, though in a way far different from the freedom their youth had allowed, the only way their society permits. They now deal in stolen and secretive moments peppered throughout a life of duty and marriage, and this is one of the greatest ironies of the time in which these stories are set; that it was acceptable for a man to have sex with his male slaves but not with a male peer, and in this book we see that irony on display.

Nicodemus plays a different role to Bryaxis in the Dominus series, though they are both slaves. That difference is evident in their servitude and what they each mean to their masters. Where Nicodemus is treasured for his beauty and body and sensuality, Bry is prized by Lucius as a friend and confidant, and cherished as a lover—outside of the public eye, of course. In public Bryaxis can never be more than Lucius’ property, which is what make their private moments resonate in an overtly romantic way. Knowing what I know about Lucius and Bryaxis made their story, December, ring with a deeper layer of poignancy and emotion, and of the two scenes, I loved this one the best.

The history of bisexuality and slavery offers some food for thought in the ways that law and society in Ancient Rome dealt with its contradictory moral codes, and how the caste system pervaded. Though, that’s not really the focus of February and December. These stories are all about the erotic moments shared between friends whose relationship is marred by an undercurrent of jealousy and frustration, and the way they relate to not only each other but the slaves who serve them. And then, there’s Lucius and Bryaxis and the forbidden love they share, which makes this novella (and the series) well worth the reading.

October Feature ~ Katey Hawthorne

October Feature ~ Rosalind Abel

Follow TNA

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 6,419 other subscribers

Email Address

Book of the Month ~ September Picks

Bonfires

Manic Pixie Dream Boy

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

As Sure as the Sun

WILD

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths & Magic

Lord of the White Hell: Book One

Into This River I Drown

Be My Best Man

Rule Breaker

GayRomLit Featured Blogger

Grab My Badge

Free Ficlets

Equality ~ Edited by Paul Alan Fahey

Speak Out as an LGBT Ally

NoH8 – Amy

NoH8 – Jules

NoH8 – Lisa and Daughter

Archives

Archives

Reviews By Author/Publisher/Genre

Reviews By Author/Publisher/Genre

Giveaways

The Fine Print

*Entrants of all giveaways hosted at The Novel Approach must be 18 years or older to qualify
*All contest comments must be relevant to the author’s prompt to be eligible (when applicable)
*Residency restrictions may apply to some giveaways
*The Novel Approach will not be held liable for prize delivery for any contest unless otherwise specified
*No purchase necessary to enter any giveaway
*All giveaways are void where prohibited by law

Disclaimer

There are lots of thinky thoughts and opining opinions floating around The Novel Approach, most of which are for entertainment purposes only; some of which may even be considered controversial in nature.

Each owner of said thoughts and/or opinions is free to express such, though that doesn't necessarily mean that I, or the other members of the TNA team, agree with them or give blanket endorsement to all expressions herein posited by our guests--or even by each other, for that matter. It simply means that the authors of said expressions are humans and individuals and like to think out loud from time to time.

What I sincerely hope is that you enjoy the time spent here reading what's being said, and that regardless of whether or not you agree, you respond with courtesy and respect.